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This first-hand reminiscence chronicles the first 15 years in life of a native Santee Sioux Indian in mid-19th century: childhood memories, training in the hunt, woodlore, religious practices, work of the medicine men, games, initiation rites, and more. Eastman also includes family and tribal legends of adventure, bravery, and nature. 13 illustrations.

Princess Academy: The Forgotten Sisters
"Action packed and well paced, the story's depth incorporates artful negotiation, the importance of education, and citizens' equality and rights." - Booklist, starred review. See more by Shannon Hale

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

This is a most excellent book because it is "AUTHENTIC" and not one that speaks of prejudice and the horrors of the Native American experience; instead, it allows you to catch a glimpse of what is now lost, a world of beauty and wonder. I highly recommend it to anyone: young or old; red, white, brown, or yellow -- a book that should be preserved and revered.

There is so much myth about "the American Indian," or "The Native American," that for many non-Native Americans there is no way to understand what life was like on this continent before Euro-Americans wiped out those who lived here first.

This book, by Charles Alexander Eastman(Née Ohiyesa), offers a genuine first-hand story about what it was like growing up in the years before the massacre at Wounded Knee, when his tribe had to flee to Canada.

Ohiyesa's father was captured and imprisoned by American soldiers when his son was a very young boy. But by the time he was a teenager, his father was released from jail, and he went to Canada to reclaim his son. The boy went to American jails and ultimately was graduated from Dartmouth College as a physician. He went through a period in his life in which he wrote a series of books about the Lakota way of life, in which he explains values, belief systems, and the lifestyle he experienced as a child. Today, unfortunately, due to government imposed boarding schools during the first part of the 20th Century, this became a lost way of life and thought.

Ohiyesa's books are treasures for the soul. They are simple, spare, Spartan even, and beautiful. Above all, they are honest. And in their direct, one-to-one description of how humans lived so simply with nature, they are inspiring and spiritual.

Ohiyesa's books should be required reading for students of literature, sociology, American history, philosophy, and psychology. They are not written to lament the plight of a people. But dignifying the elegant ways of a tribe -- simply by recording it as it was -- creates and understanding. And once you understand, you cannot help but mourn for the natural and simple ways that were.

I love biographic styles from 1850 era on up to the 1900,s This is one of the best I ever read.Not only will it hold your interest ,but you do feel like you are there .I think the American Plains Indian was treated very badly because of a lack of understanding their ways & values.We can all learn from this book (especially today) how wrong we can be .Anyone interested in opening up there mind to things we can do better should read this book.

I enjoyed this book because it provides information about my family. My great grandfather was an older brother to Charles Eastman. I like the fact that it tells the story of a different time by an actual Dakotah person rather than a negative portrayal by someone from another race.

Let me open up to a page in Indian Boyhood and let you sample some of this marvelous writing.

"The boy came rushing into the lodge, followed by his dog Ohitika who was wagging his tail promiscuously, as if to say: "Master and I are really hunters!' "(102) From the chapter, "Hakadah's First Offering". This is a rather dramatic part as a sacrifice is about to be made.

Before I read this book I had little exposure to American Indian literature. Although I am American, Disney's Pocahontas, American Girl's Kaya, and various such things were all I knew of the genre and they were secondhand imaginitive accounts of Indian culture.

As I savored this book, I felt like I had to learn the rhythm and method of storytelling Eastman uses. That and the word, "savage" made me consider lowering the rating. But after I read the entire book, I knew it was a heartfelt biography that was worth five stars.

I especially liked all the descriptions of nature and stories shared. As Ohiyesa (Eastman) goes through childhood, readers are brought along to experience history and life through a different perspective.

This edition provides background history and a cool blue cover. There are some sketches and the writing is far from boring. So give it a try.